Cross The Worlds and Back For You, Sir
by Mizuri-chan
Summary: He'd have lost it without Riza. Now that she's back can he save her new friends from the Homunculi? Wait-do they even need saving? And WHY is Havoc dating his worst nightmare-The whitewater alchemist? Why does she seem so spacy nowadays?
1. Chapter 1

Blood, dirt, grit, and all the telltale signs, sounds, and sights of war flew around him, whizzing past his eyes and ears. But one sound resounded loud in his head above the rest. His lieutenant, grunting as a bullet took out her left shoulder, and consequently, her entire shooting arm. Thats where his mistake was made. He turned, out of worry, shouting for her, and in his moment of blind panick, felt something blunt and heavy dig into his spinal column.

"RIZA!"

He woke in a cold sweat, white hospital walls all too familiar to him. There was movement to his left, and, having figured out his whereabouts rather quickly, turned to see his officers, Winry Rockbell, and the Elric brothers staring at him.

He grinned.

"Hey. Whats with the welcoming committee?" he asked. Then he noticed something that he slapped himself mentally for not noticing before.

"Where's Lt. Hawkeye?" he inquired. Winry covered her mouth and whimpered. Edward,(now a good three inches taller than her) put an arm around her shoulder and addressed Colonel Roy Mustang with a downtrodden expression. Roy didn't like the look.

"So nobody told you yet... Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye... Died protecting you from a bombshell, Mustang."

Winry cried on Ed's shoulder and the rest of the occupants of the room, save for Edward and Roy, looked down at the floor. Ed looked at Roy apologetically.

"Sorry, Roy."

His eyes went wide as he gasped sharply. Then, seeming to lose all life completely, Roy's eyes drooped and his voice became dead and emotionless.

"I... I understand... Thank you for letting me know... Please leave, everyone."

Roy's officers looked at eachother and simultaneously saluted, and took leave. Alphonse Elric left next, stating that if Roy ever needed anything, to just come to the Elric house.

"Roy, do her a favor. Keep going, and reach your goal of becoming Fuhrer. She would have wanted you to continue."

Roy nodded to Edward, who smiled sadly, and helped the young Rockbell out of the room.

When he was sure that all of the others were gone, Roy Mustang blew a fuse, broke down, and cried. As he saw it, his whole reason for becoming Fuhrer was to get rid of the fraternization laws. So he could be with Lt. Hawkeye. With Riza... Now... it was a useless goal and his entire being felt heavy, hard to move, and if it was possible, he was sure he could feel his heart slowing down and his body starting to malfunction because it couldn't take the loss.

"Riza... You should have just let me die. I can't handle anything without you..." he sobbed into his arms. He pulled his knees up to his chest and did his best to hide his face. It was pathetic, really. How quickly he had already fallen apart. It just drove home to his comrades, the Elrics, Winry Rockbell, all of whom were standing behind his door, and to himself, just how much that woman had meant to him. That sharp shooter bodyguard of a lieutenant, that strict, but just soft enough comrade was the only thing that kept him in one peice. And now she was gone, and he would never be able to tell her he loved her, and he would be alone, always alone, for the rest of his life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Riza Hawkeye... had never been one to break the rules or protocol, but now, she had no idea where she was, and she certainly wasn't anywhere governed by the Central authority, so she found herself a nice tree to sit down and dress her headwound by and sighed.

"I... I guess I did fall for his arrogant charm..." She winced as the wound protested being wrapped.

"Ow... Now to figure out where I am... Hmmm..." She mused, looking around. It seemed to be aroung five in the afternoon, and there was a sign that read "HOSPITAL/POLICE STATION" about seven yards away and to her right. She got up on her slightly twisted ankle and hobbled across the yellowed grass, weeds, and burrs. Before she could make it across, however, a young woman on an evening stroll, appearing to be about six or seventeen years old stopped her.

"Oh, my gosh! Are you allright miss? What on earth happened to you? Don't worry! I'll help you get to the hospital!"

Riza was too weak to refuse. Her stomach suddenly felt empty, her body heavy, and her wounds throbbed in places she wouldn't have thought to ache. And, now that she thought about it, she wasn't really sure what had happened. She remembered after-shock skirmishes after the war, and bombshells... And Roy... ROY! Was he alright? Of course he was... He always was... She remembered the bullet that had taken her shoulder, Roy's face when he whirled around and took a hit to his back... she remembered throwing him out of the way of another bombshell and... thats right... That's when everything went black... so... what was she doing here? Where was here?

Deciding that her questions would have to wait until she was patched up, she leaned on the shoulder of the young girl, who reminded her of a brunette version of Winry Rockbell.

"Hey, miss, Do you mind if I ask your name?"

"Not at all. My name is Riza Hawkeye, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."

The girls eyes widened considerably, revealing round ocean green eyes.

"You mean, Lt. Hawkeye- The one who served under Colonel Roy Mustang?"

Riza nodded vigorously.

"Yes! Do you know how I can get back to Central? "

The brunette smiled sadly.

"If I did I would tell you... May I call you Riza?" She asked. Hawkeye nodded.

"Riza, Technically, it isn't supposed to be possible for someone to get from here to Central and vice averse. But somehow, you got here. Whatever you did to get here might just be your ticket back... You didn't by any chance step on a tramsmutation circle did you?"

Riza's eyes turned to saucers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, brother? I'm worried about Colonel Mustang... He seems... i don't know how to describe it..." said Alphonse. He looked at Edward, and then back at Roy, who was currently hunched over in his chair, filling out another peice of paper. His posture was one that belayed the utter defeat he felt in his heart. Edward nodded. The Colonel's eyes were red and puffy, he'd obviously been crying, and he'd lost a lot of weight, it seemed.

"Y'know, he almost acts like he's lost all reason to live." Edward muttered.

"Brother?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"Remember the Philosopher's Stone? We could use it to bring her back."

"Al... Remember what happened when we tried to bring mom back? You lost your body and I lost an arm and a leg. Literally."

"Yes, but now we have the stone!"

Edward looked at Colonel Mustang's defeated form and sighed, walking over to the depressed officer.

"Hey, Roy."

The officer registered Ed, but otherwise held no reaction.

"Al and I were thinkin' maybe we could use the Philosopher's Stone to try and bring Riza back." Edward said, hoping it had some effect on him.

"Riza would never have allowed it. But thank you, though, Fullmetal."

Edward shrugged at his brother when Roy made no move to say anything further or acknowledge the Fullmetal alchemist.

Alphonse's shoulders slumped and he sighed, walking up to the Fire alchemist who had just lost someone dear.

"Come on, Colonel. You know Lt. Hawkeye would have hated to see you like this!"

Finally a response from Roy. He got up, and snatched Alphonse's collar, holding him up like a rag doll.

"Do. NOT. **SPEAK TO ME. _ABOUT WHAT SHE WOULD HAVE HATED! UNDERSTAND!_**" The Colonel roared. Alphonse nodded, terrified for lack of a better term, as Ed yelled for Roy to let him go. Roy Mustang dropped Al and stormed past Armstrong yelling that he would be taking the rest of the day off.

The large, muscley man with the gold mustache glanced at the shaken brothers, and then at the door that Roy had just stormed through.

"Poor boy..." He sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

"That must have been it..." Riza mused aloud, leaning on the brunette's shoulder on the way to the hospital.

"By the way, I don't even know your name." Riza muttered, wincing as her bad ankle turned in a sadisticly painful way. The young woman helped put more weight on her good foot and smiled.

"My name is Nikki Roanoke. I plan on becoming a U.S. Marine. Though i'm not a sharp-shooter Lt. like you yet, Riza. Maybe one day though, ne?" Nikki laughed. The stern faced lieutenant cracked a smile.

"Hey, Riza, If you have any weapons on you, I suggest you get rid of them here, otherwise we could get into trouble when we enter the hospital."

Riza nodded and with minor difficulty, stooped down next to some random bush and stripped herself of her beloved fire arms. After making sure they were well hidden, Nikki helped her up and they continued to the emergency ward of the hospital about five blocks ahead. When they were almost to the entrance, Riza asked Nikki a question.

"Nikki, How do you know so much about me? And Central? And where am I?"

"Well, the first ones are easier to show than to tell, but I will explain the last one. This country is called America, and it is divided into fifty states under a democracy. The state we're in right now is called Texas. And we're in it's main city, Austin...

Riza, it really is supposed to be impossible for you to get here, but I'm guessing that you accidentally stepped on a transmutation circle- (or maybe you fell)- bled on it, and activated it, opening a gate similar to the one the Elric brothers opened, only smaller and active for a shorter period of time. If that's what happened, that's your only ticket back. But i'm not sure if alchemy even works here... Y'know, your really lucky you wound up here and near a hospital, with someone who vaguely understood your situation, otherwise, the Colonel really would have a good reason to mourn you. You would have died."

Riza nodded. that much she understood.

"Wait, why would the colonel be mourning me?"

"I'll answer that one later. Come on, my friends mom works here. Pretend to have amnesia, though, so she doesn't go looking for papers on someone who isn't supposed to exist in this world, ok?"

"All right."

Nikki smiled and led her to one of the female doctors sitting at the front desk.

"Hey, Mrs. Philips. Can you help her out? I asked her her name but it seems like she's got amnesia."

"Oh, dear!"

Mrs. Philips began to dash around the room the minute she got a good look at Riza, and that was when Riza got her first look at herself, and immediatley began to ache. She was more battered that she recalled, and bloody in places she hadn't even realized. The side of her head had a swollen knot on it and she had several bruises under her eyes and on her forehead- and there were probably even more on her arms and legs. She suddenly felt light headed and sore.

"Come on, dear, this way!" The little nurse said, ushering Riza to one of the back medical rooms. Nikki was told to stay outside and wasn't allowed to see Riza until four hours later.

"Hey, How do you feel?" she asked cheerily upon walking into the room. Riza looked up with a pained smile as she put her jacket back onto her body.

"Like I was run over by a train." Nikki laughed as Mrs. Philips came back into the room with a clipboard.

"Well, now that you've been cleaned up, I suppose I should make you some registration forms. Here, can you think of a name for yourself dear? Since you can't remember your old one? This is all temporary of course."

Riza thought a moment, or, at least pretended to. Then with a smile and a snap of her fingers, exclaimed, "Riza. Riza Hawkeye! That'll be my name from now on!"

He sprinted down the many roads of Amestris, of central. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he had to get away. He had to get away from anything and everything that reminded him of his lieutenant. His footsteps pounded the cobblestone streets that gave way to grassy feilds, and then the green forests of the outskirts. letting the tears he had been holding back all day finally pour from his eyes, he broke down again next to a small, fast flowing stream.

'You idiot! Stay back! Your abilities are useless in the water! Its raining! You're only going to get in the way!'

The memory stung like a slap to the face, but he smiled, wading into the water, tears still streaming down his face.

"I guess I'm useless in other places too, huh, Riza? Not just the water."

he laughed sharply, and took his gun from it's holster on his side. Putting the barrell to the underside of his jaw, he prepared to shoot, but then, another, more recent memory hit him.

' "Hey, Roy."

"Al and I were thinkin' maybe we could use the Philosopher's Stone to try and bring Riza back." Edward said, hoping it had some effect on him.

"Riza would never have allowed it. Thank you, though, Fullmetal." '

Roy put the gun down.

"Thats right... She wouldn't have allowed this either..." Sighing heavily, Roy looked up at the sky for a moment, frowned at it, and screamed in rage, frustration, and grief.

All he could think of, was his lieutenant, and all he could feel was emptiness, pain, and loneliness. She had meant a lot to him, and, even though he wasn't really allowed to show it, (Damn fraternization laws), he had really, really, loved Riza. She had stolen his heart, and left him alone. Left him to wither away by himself. All he could think of to ask, was, "Why?" the simple question that had such a complicating and frustrating answer that he already knew.

She had protected him, again, because she was a loyal Lieutenant, and a loyal friend, companion, and his confidant. She had protected him like she always did, but this time, it had cost much more than he would have been willing to let her pay. She had done it without his consent and she had paid with her life.

Sitting on a dry rock in the middle of the stream, he splashed water on his face and dried his eyes. Making up his mind, he got up and fire-dried his clothes before heading back into town. He went to sign himself out for an extended trip and left his office to his remaining three officers.

Then, he made his way to the Elric house and knocked on the door.  


"YOU WANNA DO WHAT NOW!"

Roy looked at Aplphonse with a straight face, while the younger Elric stuttered an intelligible string of objections and otherwise senseless babble.

"You heard me, now where is your brother?"

"He's out getting groceries. BUT HAVE YOU LOST YOUR EVER LOVING MIND! THERE ARE STILL SKIRMISHES IN ISHBAL! DO YOU WANNA DIE? YOU WANNA RISK YOUR LIFE JUST SO YOU CAN GET A BODY?"

Alphose regretted his rash words the moment they left his mouth and watched as Col. Roy mustang slowly looked out the kitchen window. There was a couple across the street, happy and oblivious to the cold, dead stare directed at them.

"Yes..."

Alphonse sighed as he got up to make a snack for himself and Roy.

"You and Ed are exactly alike. My brother would be doing the exact same thing if this were Winry, though he wouldn't admit it unless the situation presented his and your ego's are huge... But maybe yours has a few inches on Ed."

Roy laughed at the joke on Edward's height, though the blond had grown considerably since the official end of the Ishbal war.

"Hey! You quit cracking jokes about me, Al! And You! Don't encourage him! I'm Taller than you now, Roy!" Said Edward, who had snuck into the house with several bags of groceries in his arms. He set them down and lightly smacked his brother over the head. He glared at Roy.

"Sorry. Old habits seem to die hard, Ed." Roy sighed. Edward caught the look in his eye and raised a brow.

"Alright, I'll take the bait. What are you here for?"

"I want to go Ishbal to retrieve Riza's body."

"Oh, thats all?" Ed shrugged as he put away the groceries. Then he whirled around, pointing accusingly at the Colonel.

"Wait a second, SAY WHAAAAAT! WHAT ARE YOU NUTS?"

"Thats not all, brother. He wants us to go too."

"Roy?"

"Yes, Edward?"

"ARE YOU SUICIDAL! DID YOU HIT YOUR HEAD OR SOMETHING? YOU MUST HAVE A DEATH WISH!"

"I was actually thinking about that earlier, but no. And in regards to your accompanying me, I've already signed the papers. You don't have a choice."

The Elric brothers paled, and Ed groaned.

"We're all gonna die..."  



	3. Chapter 3

"Well, Lt. Hawkeye, welcome to my humble abode. Theres a bedroom with it's own bathroom over there to the right, the kitchen is over in here, and my bedroom is the last door on the left upstairs. I'm gonna go order us something to eat since I don't have any food in the fridge. Want anything in particular?"  
"No thank you. I should be fine. I'm going to lay down for a while, okay? And then you can answer my questions, correct?" Nikki smiled and nodded, picking up the phone to order a pizza. After it arrived fifteen minutes later, Riza made her way to the living room where Nikki had set the pizza. Clicking on the Tv, the song AGAIN by Yui began to play, with the acronym FMA displayed across the top in bold. Riza's eyes widened, and as she watched the animated version of the Elric's, Roy, and herself interact across the screen, She mouthed her parts perfectly, remembering the conversation with Roy regarding Hughes death.  
"Wh-What is this?" Riza asked.  
"Its an animated cartoon tv show based on the lives of the Elric brothers. Obviously you recognize this episode. I was very sad to see Mr. Hughes die at the hands of Envy, the Humunculi. I'm going to skip forward to the second most recent episode now, alright?"  
Riza nodded, and the screen flicked to Roy Mustang standing in the Elric brothers kitchen.  
""Alright, I'll take the bait. What are you here for?"  
"I want to go Ishbal to retrieve Riza's body."  
"Oh, thats all?" Ed shrugged as he put away the groceries. Then he whirled around, pointing accusingly at the Colonel.  
"Wait a second, SAY WHAAAAAT! WHAT ARE YOU NUTS?"  
"Thats not all, brother. He wants us to go too."  
"Roy?"  
"Yes, Edward?"  
"ARE YOU SUICIDAL! DID YOU HIT YOUR HEAD OR SOMETHING? YOU MUST HAVE A DEATH WISH!"  
"I was actually thinking about that earlier, but no. And in regards to your accompanying me, I've already signed the papers. You don't have a choice."  
The Elric brothers paled, and Ed groaned.  
"We're all gonna die...""

Riza watched as the television cut to commercial.

"Retrieve my body?" Riza asked Nikki.  
"I think I'd better go back an episode..."  
Nikki clicked back a little, and the opening scene of the moment Roy woke up in the infirmiry was displayed on the screen. Riza watched intently.  
""Hey. Whats with the welcoming committee?" Roy asked. Then he noticed something that he slapped himself mentally for not noticing before. "Where's Lt. Hawkeye?" he inquired. Winry covered her mouth and whimpered. Edward,(now much taller than her) put an arm around her shoulder and addressed Colonel Roy Mustang with a downtrodden expression. Roy didn't like the look.  
"So nobody told you yet... Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye... Died protecting you from a bombshell, Mustang."  
Winry cried on Ed's shoulder and the rest of the occupants of the room, save for Edward and Roy, looked down at the floor. Ed looked at Roy apologetically.  
"Sorry, Roy."  
His eyes went wide as he gasped sharply. Then, seeming to lose all life completely, Roy's eyes drooped and his voice became dead and emotionless.  
"I... I understand... Thank you for letting me know... Please leave, everyone."  
Roy's officers looked at eachother and simultaneously saluted, and took leave. Alphonse Elric left next, stating that if Roy ever needed anything, to just come to the Elric house. "Roy, do her a favor. Keep going, and reach your goal of becoming Fuhrer. She would have wanted you to continue."  
Roy nodded to Edward, who smiled sadly, and helped the young Rockbell out of the room. When he was sure that all of the others were gone, Roy Mustang blew a fuse, broke down, and cried. "Riza... You should have just let me die. I can't handle anything without you..." he sobbed into his arms."

Riza stared wide eyed at the tv. her hands clasped over her mouth in sadness.  
"Colonel Mustang..." "Sad, isn't it? But don't worry. We'll find a way to get you back to central."  
"Thank you... Hey, you said there was a more recent episode- can I see it?"  
"Yeah, but it doesn't air until later tonight. Hurry up and eat. Your pizza is gonna get cold." Riza nodded and listened intently as Nikki explained how to use the DirecTv remote and took a sip of the Koolaid drink that she had been given.  
Nikki went to bed after that.  
More dirt, grit, and war. That's what his eyes were seeing. But his heart wasn't seeing anything at all. Roy turned around to look at the Elric brothers, barely following along behind him. It had been at least two years since they had done anything this extreme.  
"How much farther, Mustang?" Ed asked. Roy looked around and pointed to a crumbling pile of stone rubble, some ways away from the rest of the buildings.  
"We were on an outpost. There."  
Ed groaned and Al tried to comfort him.  
"At least we can see it now, brother. Anyway, We should stop here for the night and continue in the morning. It's too dark and there are a lot of poisonous snakes in this area. We wouldn't want to step on one and have to drop everything to treat a wound." Roy nodded and helped the other two set up camp.

XXX Ed walked over and sat down next to the flame alchemist, who was watching the stars in the distance.  
"You okay, Roy? You've been pretty stoic since we left Amestris."

"Do I have a reason to be anything but?"

"Just saying. But still, you know you're going a little overboard. I understand you wanting to give her a proper burial and all, but the war is still unofficially raging. Theres a good chance you could die and make her sacrifice null and void. If i knew the Lieutenant at all, she'd be pissed if she found out she went to the trouble of a rescue only to find out you went and got yourself killed less than a month after."

Roy nodded.

"I understand that much, Fullmetal... But... I feel obliged to do this- at least just do this right. Hey... If i confide in you, you'll keep your mouth shut, right?"

"Well sure, unless it involves human ressurection. Then I'm gonna go wake up Al and tell everything I know."

Roy chuckled and sighed, turning just so that he could see Ed out of the corner of his eyes.

"I wasn't joking when I said I had thought about suicide. I actually had a gun to my head the day I went to your house. And do you know what stopped me?"

Ed looked at him, wide eyed and in disbeleif. The Colonel had almost shot himself? The guy who always seemed so confident, arrogant even?

"What stopped you?"

"The fact that Riza wouldn't have approved and the memories I have of her wouldn't let me pull the trigger. God, i wanted to though."

Ed looked back up towards the sky.

"Guess everybody has their inner demons..."

"You don't know how right you are... Do you know why I wanted to become Fuhrer so badly?"

"Yeah, I know this one! You said you wanted to make all the girls wear miniskirts!" Edward laughed. Roy scratched the side of his face, a small smile gracing his features.

"Did I say that?" He asked. "Well, I admit, I might have, but that wasn't the real reason."

Ed stopped chuckling as his brother turned in his sleep, and then turned back to the Colonel, grinning wildly.

"Oh, Yeah?" he laughed, "Then what was it, Eh, Mustang?"

Roy's voice suddenly became grave.

"Because I loved Riza. As a Colonel, or any other place in the military, it is considered taboo to have an intimate relationship with another officer, no matter what. The punishments can be as grave as the price you paid trying to bring back your mother. As Fuhrer, I would have the power to get rid of that rule, and... well, y'know..."

"No, I don't. Continue. Please, now I'm interested."

"You are an ass."

"Ditto. You were saying?"

"... If that rule hadn't existed, I would have asked Riza out years ago. And asked repeatedly until she accepted. I would have asked her to marry me, Ed."

Putting a mechanical hand on the Colonels shoulder, Edward sighed and looked the colonel dead in the eye.

"Y'know what? I can see what you're getting at, here, believe it or not. And I realize and understand why just getting her body back means so much to you. But I'll tell you what Riza would say if she were here, or at least something close. Be careful, sir. And please, please don't do anything reckless and stupid... but then again, Telling that to Roy Mustang of all people isn't gonna change that much is it, Colonel?"

Roy scoffed and shook his head.

"Nope. Not gonna change a thing."

"Of course."

"So did you watch that FMA episode Riza?"

No answer. Nikki walked into the living room to find Riza replaying one scene, particularly a few sentances from the anime.

"... If that rule hadn't existed, I would have asked Riza out years ago. And asked repeatedly until she accepted. I would have asked her to marry me, Ed."

"Oh, dear... Riza, are you ok?"

Riza hadn't answered, but instead covered her mouth with her hands and Nikki watched as her eyes swelled up with tears. Sitting down next to the blond sharpshot, Nikki pulled her into a comforting embrace. Riza whimpered.

"I-I-I- I ne-never thought h-he c-cared so m-much! B-But This? N-now!" she cried softly. Nikki sighed and patted her back.

"It's okay, Riza. We'll find a way to get you back, and you and Roy will figure something out. I'm sure of it!" She said, soundly.

"R-really? You really think so?" Riza asked, backing up to wipe her eyes.

"I'm positive. Now, come on, You gotta look on the bright side. He thinks you're dead, so Imagine the look on his face when he sees you, alive and well!"

Riza wiped her eyes one more time and gave a firm nod.

"That's right. Yes, if I can reach him, everything will work out... Somehow..."

Nikki smiled and went into the kitchen to do the morning dishes, Riza following behind in a slightly better mood.

"Do you need any help? I'd be glad to."

"No, I'm fine. I've been doing this by myself for a while now, Riza. I'm a big girl."

Riza cocked her head to the side.

"That's right. I haven't seen anyone else here. You live by yourself?" she asked. Nikki nodded.

"I'm nineteen- about to be twenty- and I've been living by myself for about two years."

"Oh, I see... You know, when I saw you, I thought you were sixteen, or seventeen maybe..."

Nikki laughed a good natured chuckle.

"Great, Now I'm the new Ed. Haha, it's okay, im not offended. I get that a lot, actually, and the way I see it, is when everybody else is old and haggard looking, I'll still look a few years younger."

Riza laughed and began to help with the dishes, though she had been told not to. A bubbling conversation blossomed around friends and family, until the subject settled onto something both girls would rather not have brought up.

Fathers.

A moment of silence, and Nikki brought up something else to talk about and the rhythm of conversation righted itself again.

"Hey, Riza, where do you stand- relationship wise- with Roy?"

The Lieutenant looked up from drying a plate sharply, surprised and a little red in the face.

"I... I know he cares about me, but, I won't really know until I see him again. Up til now, it's been purely business and professionalism... on my end at least."

"you couldn't possibly have been That oblivious to his feelings Riza. As smart as you are?"

Riza looked down and picked up a glass cup and began to wipe the inside furiously, face red and the glass starting to smoke from pressure and friction.

"So you noticed. How long ago was this?"

Riza looked away as she set the still smoldering cup down.

"I... I'm not sure, exactly, but, it wasn't recent. I know that much."

Just then, The door bell rang, and Nikki dried her hands to go answer it.

Making her way to the oak door at the front of the house, Nikki was sure she felt a shift. She wasnt sure What shifted, but she knew she had felt it, and suddenly everything seemed so much more... Drawn together, and she seemed to pop from the background more. She dismissed it, and answered the door.

"Oh, hey, Tara- nee-chan! What are you doing here?"

"THEY AIRED A SPECIAL FMA EPISODE! YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT! NOW!" Tara exclaimed, not even bothering to answer Nikki's question and pushing her into the living room and past the kitchen. Tara stopped, looking at Riza, and then shook her head, continuing to shove Nikki to the nearest tv.

"I really shouldn't be surprised..."

Once Nikki was comfortable, Tara clicked the Tv on, and the screen displayed three girls sitting in a living room, watching Tv. One was blond, one had raven black hair, and the other was a brunette whose hands were still a little wet from washing dishes.

Nikki's eyes went wide and Tara sighed.

"My mom knows about Riza, Nick. But that's not our main problem, cause my mom wants to help Riza. Our problem is this lady." Nikki watched as the preview for the next episode showed that lady who tried to go through the gate to conquer Amestris standing outside of her house.

"I recognize her!" Riza exclaimed, having sat down beside Nikki, who nodded.

"So do I, and we all know she's nothing but trouble."

"That's not all Nick. I went and found the next few episodes in Japanese, and Roy is going to try to open a gate on a hunch. We have to try to get Riza through without letting Mrs. Kookoo get to the other side as well. If worst comes to worst, We may have to deal with her first before we can get Riza home."

Both Riza and Nikki nodded.

"I think It's time I retreived my guns."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Colonel Mustang, look at this!" Alphonse cried from behind a pile of rubble. Roy made his way and stopped when he got a good look at his surroundings. Taking slow, measured steps, he stopped to look around the circular tower that had blown to smithereens on part of one side, the other standing proud and tall. He looked up to the spiral stairs that hugged the wall, pointing to a place about four feet away and three feet above him.

"She was standing right there..." he muttered, trailing his pointer finger across what was left of the tower, to a spot near his right. He walked to it, and looked at a hole in the wall at his back.

"And I was right here. The bullet that hit my back came through there, i guess." He said, more to himself than the others. Then he spied what Al had in his hands. It was a torn peice of Riza's military coat. However, it was at the boy's feet where the real prize lay.

It was a transmutation cirlcle, and there was blood, all the way around it, but not in the circle itself. The borderline of dried blood was too perfect to be natural.

"It's just like the gate to "the supposed" Shamballa. Except, there are some key differences around the borders."

"Your right... Look at this one... It's a bold line instead of a thin one- and the symbols are different. What do you think it means, Al?" Ed asked.

"i don't know... Maybe it controls the dimension you go to upon passing through?"

"No... The rest of it is the same- the part that the border controls is-"

"The time." Roy finished. "When that woman opened the gate,the technology wasn't far ahead of ours on the other side, correct?"

"Yeah, so that means that the circle would transport you to the other dimension at the exact point and time based on the age of our world at the time of the transmutation."

"If these symbols are different, that would mean that anything passing through would either go back in time, or forward..."

"Colonel, there's blood all around the circle... Do you think...maybe..." Al asked, a bit worried about the face Roy was making.

"Riza was pushed through..."

Alphonse nodded, and shuddered as both Roy's and Edwards trademark grins grew wide and demented on their faces.

"So wha'dya say, Colonel? Wanna go rescue your girlfriend?"

If it was possible, Roy's grin grew, and he clapped Ed on the shoulder.

"Do you have to ask? And Riza would have shot at you for that one."

"Well what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

""Do you have to ask? And Riza would have shot at you for that one."

"Well what she doesn't know won't hurt her.""

"it won't hurt me, all right Ed, but it will definately get You hurt!"

Nikki and Tara smiled nervously at the ticked off blonde.

"Now now, Riza. He was just kidding."

"I'm still going to shoot him!"

Nikki and Tara sweat dropped.

"Hey, I just noticed something, Nick. If he's gonna try to open the gate, then shouldn't we go to where Riza cam through? Thats probably where he'll end up. and we'd better get there before crazy lady shows."

Nikki and Riza nodded, quickly gathering their things and dashing out the door, Tara following close behind since she wasn't exactly sure where they were going.

Taking off at a quick paced sprint, they ended up at the forested area where Riza had gone through, (having already stopped at the bush where Riza had discarded her weapons), and sure enough, there in the thin, yellowish grass,the shining symbols of a transmutation circle were startng to appear. 


	5. Authors Note number 1

WOOT! Two chapters in one day! This is a miracle! Rejoice, reviewers! for it is a rarity that shall (probably) Never again occur!

Anyway, I have an excuse for not posting number three earlier. I was having some problems with the site, and right when I FINALLY got the message sent, it started working fine. Oh, well, at least there are some new chapters, right? Well, I'm off to try to write chapter five. Sorry for incredibly short chapter four!

Remember, reviews help me stay motivated! (I never got any for my story TAMED or IKIOI LIFE, so I never finished them. *cries*)

Kudos to everybody who Read and Reviewed! You all get many thanks and imaginary cyber cookies! Ja, ne! 


	6. Chapter 5

Roy sighed, glancing at the Elric brothers, who signaled that : Yes. They were ready. He nodded the affirmative, and slowly counted to three.

"One... Two... Three!"

They slammed their palms down onto the circle and Roy and Ed grinned a grin that was beginning to make young Alphonse shudder as the circle began to glow bright orange and red in the center. They were really beginning to creep him out. But otherwise, so far so good, as the portal-like circle began to open in the middle like a camera lense. Roy could even make out trees, a kind he had never seen before, and the silouette of three girls... He couldn't make out the details though, they were too far away for him to see. But it was working!

"They DID IT! Look, Nikki! They did it!" Nikki looked exhuberantly at Riza, but Tara merely shook her head, raven black hair swaying slightly about her shoulders.

"No, they didn't. Look." She said, pointing into the circle just as another, more ornate gate appeared, which actually looked more like an oak archway with two heavy cherry wood doors. A white figure gracefully came out of it and boomed in a loud voice:

"This gate requires an Equivalent Exchange... What are you willing to give?"

The girls looked at each other despairingly. Now what? They couldn't sacrifice one another, and they certainly couldn't get anyone else. They would have to regroup and think of something, but not one of them knew a thing about Alchemy, how it worked, or anything like that for that matter. The girls knew fight strategies and medicine, weapons, and technology.

A light bulb went off in Nikki's head, but the circle was beginning to close, so she told Tara to pass her her backpack which she had filled with Electronics before leaving, lest the crazy lady from the Conqueror of Shamballa Fma movie showed up at her house while they were gone. She pulled out one of the walkie talkies, told Riza to grab her legs, and dipped her body into the circle so that she could make out the boys shapes on the other side.

"MUSTANG! CATCH!" She yelled, throwing the walkie talkie full force to the other side. Her arm jerked so hard Riza almost dropped her.

He heard it- His name called by a girls voice- not Riza's, but he complied just the same, dipping his hand into the circle just in time to catch a small walkie talkie device that looked vaguely like the bug he had used to get information in Ishbal, only much larger. He pulled his arm up just as the circle closed completely, but, from the sounds of dying screams coming from beyond it, it seemed like the unnamed girl who had thrown him the device had not been quite so lucky.

Alphonse looked at Edward, then at Roy, and, shakily, asked, "W-What the hell was that? Who- What the hell just happened?"

Roy looked at the usually calm and childlike Alphonse, disregarding the fact that he had cursed completely.

"There was a girl... and she threw me the walkie talkie... But, I don't know what happened... I couldn't see anything..."

Edward looked at the now closed gate. Unless they came up with a way to bypass the Equivalent Exchange rule, they wouldn't be getting Riza back anytime soon.

Riza had barely managed to pull her out of the gate, but not in one peice. Nikki's arms had been taken, just above the elbows by that... that Thing, that governed the gate. She currently sat against a tree, breathing hard and trying even harder not to cry, or scream. Tara was dressing the wound with a first aid kit that she'd brought along. Nikki did not ask why she had thought to do so. The antibiotic ointment and the peroxide stung the bloody stump that had once been her arm like molten iron on flesh, and she bit down hard on her lip, enough to make it bleed.

"T-Tara..." She began, interrupting herself with her own hiss of pain as Tara once again dabbed her arm with peroxide.

"OW! Knock it off so I can talk!" She barked. Tara set the first aid supplies down.

"Thank you... See if you can reach Mustang on the walkie talkie. The other one is in the bag. I'd do it myself, but obviously, I can't." Nikki muttered as Riza picked up on dressing and wrapping the wound.

"OW! OW, OW, OW! Damn! You've never even HEARD of the word Gentle! Have you!" Nikki exclaimed as Riza wrapped the bandage tightly around the sore, bleeding part of what was left of Nikki's arms. She glared at her as she finished, slightly more gentle with it.

"Sorry, but I have to wrap it tightly or the bleeding won't stop and you'll die of blood loss." Riza said calmly. This girl was a lot like Roy, prone to lash out when in pain. She couldn't take it to heart, and she had to keep a straight face.

Once she was finished with both of the wounds, both Riza and Nikki watched intently as Tara attempted to reach Roy over the walkie talkie.

"Come in Colonel Mustang! Do You Copy! Come In Colonel Roy Mustang! Do you Copy?" Tara said, loudly into the device.  
Riza waited apprehensively, and Nikki hoped that her loss hadn't been for nothing.

There was silence and static, and dissapointment could be seen on each and every one of their faces.

"This is Roy Mustang. I Copy, Loud and clear!"

The girls let out cries of joy and relief.

"Good, We're going to go back home to think of a plan and come back here in a week. We'll keep you posted on anything we come up with... but we have some things we need to take care of."

"Understood. But, hey, before you end transmission, Is Riza Hawkeye with you, by any chance?"

"Yes, Sir. i'm here."

A loud thud was heard over the transmission.

"What was that?" Tara asked.

A soft, childish voice that all three reccognized as Alphonse replied.

"Ah... Colonel Mustang just blacked out..."

Stifled laughter that could only be Edward's was heard in the background, followed by a "Stop it brother! They can still hear you!"

"Allright, We'll keep you posted, boys, but we need to get out of here. Over and out."

"Roger!"


	7. Chapter 6

It had been a little under a week since the incident with the gate, and Nikki had gone to Tara's mother to get her wounds properly checked and cleaned, (which was excruciatingly painful, by the way,) and the three girls had been spending quite a bit of time hashing out ideas and cross referencing them with the boys over the walkie talkie at Nikki's house. However, when all was said and done, Nikki noticed that Riza never spoke to Roy except when they were talking over plans. Tara said that in the anime, Riza had decided not to speak to him about anything personal until she saw him face to face.

Nikki frowned. That must've made him feel terrible. He already thought this whole thing was his fault. Her not speaking to him must have broken his heart, and strengthened his resolve.

At the moment, hovever, Nikki was home by herself, as Tara and Riza had gone to the store.

Then, she felt the sudden shift again, and this time, she realized what it was. Her entire world looked like it belonged on Cartoon network- Hell, she herself looked like an anime character!

She shook it off. Tara would probably have an answer, not that she was too keen on knowing why she looked like a cartoon. It was probably to give the Artist in charge of the FMA Series a break in drawing them. To bridge the reality gap. However, that presented a problem. What if the only reason she looked like this was because she would permanently be part of the Anime? Had any of her other friends noticed the change?

A knock at her door signaled the end to her reverie, and she figured that she was about to find out.

She made her way to the door, opened it with a special pully that Riza had installed for her until she got prosthetic arms, and immediately slammed it closed with her foot.

"OH, HELL NO!"

Dashing up the stairs, she climbed out of the thankfully open window, jumped down, and ran as hard as she could towards the store where Tara and Riza had gone to. She never made it past the first block. The crazy blonde lady ran her down and tripped her and she found that falling hurt a lot more without forearms to brace yourself with...

"Well, well, what have we here? it seems you have already encountered the gate..."

"Get the hell away from me, you... You MONSTER!" She screamed, struggling to sit up without putting too much pressure on the stubs of her arms. After succeeding in that, she sent her best glare at the woman before her.

The woman merely laughed.

"Do me a favour... Open up the gate for me... I'll even give you new automail arms."

"You Fucktard Bitch! Do you really think I would TRUST YOU? Let alone open a damn gate for you! You must have lost your Goddamn Mind. As a matter of fact, I am Pretty damn sure you have!" Nikki laughed sharply. She shakily stood, feeling that, hell, if she was gonna die, she was gonna take it like the Marine Corps soldier she wanted to be. This woman, however, seemed to have other ideas.

"I'll have you know, I am perfectly sane. Is it really all that hard to believe that I simply want revenge?"

"You plus the word Revenge equals Crazy house, bitch!" She spat, taking off again. if only she could find Riza and Tara... And then what? Where did she go from there? The answer seemed obvious- but then, at the same time, it was a dumb idea, because there was no way to go through... Yes, that's right, she was thinking about the circle.

"I'll even give you the exchange material. Two Humans. For each side of the gate." The woman cooed.

"You Twisted Psycho Bitch! Leave me the hell alone!" Nikki screamed. She hadnt been watching where she was going... Otherwise, she would have noticed her friends before she barrelled into them at full tilt.

Tara and Riza dropped their bags as Nikki ran into them headlong, and barely managed to stay upright, and not topple over.

"Nick... What the hell..." Tara asked irately.

Riza asked no such question, and took Tara by her arm and dragged Nikki by the collar as fast as she could around the corner. The lady chased them, but Riza knew her way around well enough to give her the slip and then sneak back into the house for the walkie talkie, some clothes, and Nikki's backpack, along with her laptop. Then she snuck out and handed the things that belonged to Nikki back, and tying a black satchel bag closed with her clothes around her waist. She handed the walkie talkie to Tara, and instructed her that when she gave the signal, to try and contact Roy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roy paced anxiously as he waited for the day's transmission. It was two hours late already, and he didn't know what was keeping the girls. He had already become aquainted with the voices of the three, and could tell who was speaking in that way, but this skill didn't help him much when there was no transmission to be heard.

"~~C~NEL MUS~~NG! CO~~ N! COME ~~N COL~~L MUSTA~~! DO YOU~~ OPY!" It was Tara's voice, but the transmission was rushed, and it was as if she were running through a place with a lot of noise.

"I copy! I Copy! Tara! Whats going on! I can barely hear you!" He shouted, he could hear the panic in her voice.

"It's ~~at cr~zy w~man fr~~ Germany! ~~~~ne Erk~art!"

"You mean that woman who tried to take over Amestris?"

"YES!"

Roy gulped.

"Whats the plan!"

"We don't know! We're just headed towards the circle! Damn! That blonde lady is Fast! We gotta go! Over and out!" the transmission was so rushed that it came out with out static.

Roy signaled for the Elric brothers to congregate around the circle.

"Alright. I'll admit, I don't really know what I'm doing, and I'm winging it this time. We're going to open the gate for the girls."

Ed shot the Colonel a look.

"Don't you realize what that would do to you? And Al and I if anything were to go wrong?"

"If anything goes wrong, You two leave. You've been through enough already."

"We can't leave you behind! Riza would Kill us!" Al exclaimed. Roy grinned sheepishly.

"Then lets just hope everything goes according to plan."

"THERE IS NO PLAN! YOU JUST SAID SO YOURSELF!" the Elrics yelled, both furious. Roy shrugged and slammed his hands down, and watched the boys grimace and follow suit wordlessly.  



	8. Authors Note number 2

To everyone who supported this story!

I AM SO SORRY THAT THE UPDATE TOOK SO LONG!

I had chapter five and six done, but had a bug in it and I couldn't upload anything!

GOMENASAIIII!

You all get a cyber sugar cookie for waiting! (0) 


	9. Chapter 7

"Uh...Riza? Nick?"

"yeah, nee-chan?"

"Why is the ground glowing?"

"_YOURE THE ONE WHOS BEEN WATCHING FMA!_ _YOU TELL ME!"_ Nikki fumed.

"_I haven't been watching the latest ones!"_ She replied, shakily. Deitlinde Erkhart had cornered them, a couple of her goons at her side. The girls looked down and then back at Deitlinde. She smirked and gestured her men to collect them, but they never made it. They stepped onto the circle as the symbols sent a flare skyward. Deitlinde knew that for the gate to open, an exchange was needed. She fired three rounds into the light, and ran in, having heard three pained gasps.

She found herself floating in a white void. The three girls were below her, falling towards the circle on the other side. She then noticed that she was static, unmoving, and she could see her two henchmen floating dead beside her, and the fact that Truth was coming nearer. Much too near.

It dawned on her then. Three girls had gone through, alive. She had shot her henchmen in blind haste, and she herself had become part of the exchange. She struggled to get to the other side as it began to close, without her, but to no avail. Truth unraveled her body.

"Ow... Ow... Ow... Get off me please... Ow... ow... ow..."

Tara pushed herself up on her elbows and looked around as Riza rolled onto her back. Then she noticed that her body was pretty much crushing Nikki's stumps.

"AH! GOMENASAI NEE-CHAN!" she cried, getting up immediately and helping her to sit up. They looked around at the scene before them and Tara practically squealed.

"AAAAAAIIIIII! IT'S THE ELRIC BROTHERS! AND ROY MUSTANG! AAAAAAIIIIII!"

Nikki sighed and took a good look at the seemingly exhausted Elric brothers and and one very very surprised Roy Mustang.

"I... I can't believe that worked..." he muttered, staring past Nikki and Tara and letting his gaze land on Riza, who locked eyes with him in that instant.

In a rare show of complete relief, joy, and whatever else she felt in that moment, she lurched forward and threw her arms around his neck and sighed. He was caught off guard for a moment, but then he realized that the nightmare and the sleepless nights were over, and he hugged her and held her close to him. He sighed and smiled, inhaling the sweet hazelnut scent of her hair.

"Please don't ever die again." Roy whispered. He ignored the sniggers tossed his way by the older Elric.

"I'll try... Roy." She said, instead of calling him Sir, like she had before.

Nikki and Tara sighed at the sight. Mission complete. But then again, now they were the ones out of their element, and in a strange world. They were stranded with no way of getting back.

"Excuse me, but I think we should get out of here. She needs help." Alphonse said politely, pointing to Nikki's severed arms that had begun to bleed again.

She smiled and waved the stump at the others.

"Hi. I'm Nikki and That's Tara... Haha.."

"That... _**REALLY REALLY HURT!**_" Nikki hissed, flexing her news arms, courtesy of one Winry Rockbell. Said blonde sighed and apologized, explaining something about ports and nerves and something she really couldn't have cared less about hearing. She was too busy focusing on the dull, throbbing pain just above her now mechanical elbows.

"well, if you're too much of a girl to take the pain, I guess our sparring session will hafta wait." Ed said haughtily as he walked by. Tara stole an accusing glance at Nikki, who fumed.

"I'LL TAKE YOU ON RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, ELRIC! YOU SHRIMP!" Tara sighed as they walked outside and began to duel. It didn't take much to see that although Nikki was prone to complain about every little thing, she was actually very tough and resilient, as was Edward.

Duck, jump,swing left,crouch, chest kick, block, recover, jump, swing right.

It was very hard to keep track of Ed's moves and to also counteract them, but she was doing alright, since he hadn't laid a scratch on her yet, and she had already bruised his eye.

He grinned. It'd been a long time since he'd had a good sparring partner. Used to spar with Alphonse, but ever since he'd gotten his body back, he hadn't been much of a challenge. This girl was proving to be quite the opposite, as the fight went into another stage.

"You ready to call it quits, little girl?"

"What? You already tired, Shrimp-puff?"

Ed proceeded to throw a tantrum and Nikki took that as an opportunity to deliver a swift KO kick to his jaw, which sent him flying.

He hit the ground hard, and when he got up to face her again, he was knocked back down via a wrench to his forehead, and when Nikki began to laugh at him, she met the same fate. A fuming Winry stood before them with her arms crossed and a glare that could have frozen the devil himself.

"What the HELL do you think you are doing?" 

"Uh... Sparring..." Nikki said with an upward infliction, shrinking away from the angry blonde. She noticed that Ed was actually taller than Winry now, and figured that Ed was still a little sensitive about his height, though that was completely besides the point. Winry smirked an evil smirk.

"Oh? I'll tell you what you're doing. YOU'RE RUINING MY AUTOMAIL!"


	10. Chapter 8

"Wow, nee-chan. Central is so much prettier than the anime made it out to be..."

"That's because they were focused on _destroying it with all the fight scenes._" Tara sighed, thinking back to the fights between the military and the homunculi.

Truth be told, with all the fighting over and done with, and the reparations finished, Central really was quite picturesque. The tiny dolled up shops, the people, the architecture, it was all gorgeous. But Tara had Nikki's Ipod from the backpack Riza had taken from Nikki's house. Watching a few episodes, Tara realized that something bad was about to happen. The episodes just stopped before she could find out what. So of course, her almost-sister had no idea that she was in danger, nor did she sport the foreboding feeling either. Nikki was as happy as a lark.

Throughout the entire drive from the Rockbell house (they had been retrieved from there by Jean Havoc, one of the men in Mustang's squadron.), Tara had been silent. She was genuinely happy that Mustang had Riza back, and Havoc was especially bubbly, joking that mustang would finally become fuhrer and get rid of the frat laws and finally marry Riza, which was answered with stutters from Mustang, a glare from Hawkeye, and blushes on both accounts. Nikki and Havoc could only laugh. Tara smiled, but otherwise was silent.

"Nee-chan, you're really quiet. What's wrong?"

The entire car was quiet, waiting for her answer.

"it's just, we're in the same sitch as Riza was. The only reason we got through is because of Erkhart, and I don't think we have anyone like that to get us back through. I don't think I'd want to go back that way anyhow. But the point is, we're _stuck_ here. And no matter how beautiful it is, I still won't be able to see my mom or any of our other friends, Nick!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

After about two days, Mustang decided that the girls should come in and hang out at the office when they had nothing else to do. He decided this because not only did Riza seem to enjoy their company, she seemed to relax, and that meant that she was less likely to shoot at him for not doing his paperwork- which there was a lot of since Riza had been presumed dead and now she was back at work again. Tara and Nikki had agreed to it, but Mustang also wanted them to research everything they could find on the anime FMA. He found out about that via Riza, who had told him that she had seen and heard what he said to Edward the day before he found out she was alive. That had been quite embarrassing, but he also wanted to know if there was anything that could be gained from watching the anime. There was, and Tara and Nikki were to research, and report.

However, today was just a lazy day, and he had his head on his desk again, sleeping as usual.

He was about to get a very rude awakening.

So this is the place where the ass is working now...Ha, serves him right to be stuck behind a desk all day. Muwahahahahaha. I turned to the door that was in front of me, and took a deep breath, ready to scare the living shits outta Roy Mustang, My Eternal Rival! *An, Yes, that was a Maito Gai ref. Do not shoot me, nee-chan.*

I grinned, and then put on my "Pissed as all hell Sgt. Major face" that I had borrowed from 1rst Sgt. Patrick Brittingham (He was a cool teacher!) and kicked the door in.

"MUSTANG!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

I had been asleep when the door burst open, and, assuming it was Lt. Hawkeye or some other officer above me, I shouted that I was working and immediately picked up my pen. When I looked up at the door, what I saw was far worse than having a superior officer catching me sleeping. It was just as bad as Ishbal, if not worse.

"MUSTANG!"

It was that hell-girl from my worst nightmare. Mizuri Tamanami...

"So this is what you've reduced yourself to? Not even fully capable of a desk job? HA! Some hero you turned out to be!" She scoffed, raising her foot so that it rested on the corner of my desk, her right, automail arm draped over it carelessly.

"And I suppose you've been doing better, more exciting things in your life?" I asked irritably, actually wishing Riza would come back and scold me about the paperwork. Then at least I could blame it on Mizuri and get her to leave.

"For your information, I have, Mustang." She scoffed. "I was traveling around in Xing, Mindin' my own business, seein' the sights, y'know? And alluva sudden, I get attacked by this cross-dresser kid who had a bad case of Palm-tree hair- not to mention it was green, and these crazy bitches who called themselves Sloth and Lust! They said that they were gonna kill you if I didn't get you to stop snoopin around in Homunculi affairs 'n' stuff, An' I had to explain to their crazy asses that I hate your sorry ass. Now, can ya explain to me why they even knew who I was?" She growled, looking me dead in the eye. Her bangs on the left side covered her green eye, and the visible one narrowed at me, signaling her "You better give me a damn good answer or I will fucking kill you. And it shall not, be done, with mercy." face.

"Ah... well, Envy found a picture of us from Ishbal, and he was asking about you... and I uh... kinda exaggerated our... uhm... R-relationship a little, s-so they may have thought you ... um... liked me?" I squeaked. The portion of the desk underneath her foot cracked, and her face was dark and her eyes were evil.

"So...ka...*I see.*" She growled, and then tossed me out the window by my collar with her metal arm. Thankfully I landed in the lake and not on the concrete, but unfortunately, Lt. Hawkeye was right there, on her way back to the office with a stack of documents.

She secured those and made sure they wouldn't be blown away, (though they would probably be turned to ashes later) and then helped me out of the water.

"Sir? May I ask what happened?"

"Mizuri Tamanami happened..." I could see she didn't know who I was talking about.

" You might know her as the Whitewater alchemist, Lt." I said, watching recognition spread across her face.

"I know her as my worst nightmare, personified."

"Mizuri Tamanami. The Whitewater alchemist.

She's about five foot four, green eyes, brown hair usually kept either in a ponytail or like Riza's, 24 years old, (*four years younger than me, Jean Havoc*) and she really detests Roy Mustang, because of an off hand comment he made during the Ishbal war about Water alchemists. (he said that they were useless in a fight and would only get in the way, and as proud as Mizuri is, she didn't take it as lightly as he had hoped...) She is a soldier and a prankster at the same time, and though she has a state alchemist watch, she has absolutely no ties to the military, save her friends, and her attitude when faced with a challenge. In most cases, that challenge is getting Roy to do his paperwork and stop staring at Riza's butt.

Basically, she took the state alchemists test, and declined the position, stating that she only wanted to know if she could pass, and that she wasn't going to let that hothead flame alchemist, Roy, get one over on her. She was a volunteer during Ishbal, and since then has refused joining the military. However, King Bradley decided to give her the watch anyway as a token of respect for her, and she was granted use of the central libraries.

She has also taken to tormenting Mustang whenever she drops into central, saying things that implied his and Riza's relationship, as well as insulting his behavior and claiming to possess a list of "299 reasons why Roy Mustang is a terrible Fuhrer, Soldier, Boyfriend, and Person", and also a list of "I Detest Col. Roy Mustang" signatures from hundreds of dumped girlfriends, and Edward Elric's signature for good measure. Along with bad-mouthing the poor Colonel, she also likes to prank him; i.e. Whoopee cushions, Water buckets over the door, tossing him out of windows into giant water bubbles conjured with her specific style of alchemy... Etc. She likes to hit him, and has developed a type of water bullet, which she uses on him frequently...

However, the antics aren't all her fault. Roy has a bad habit of teasing about her height whenever she drops by, and at her height she's only 2 inches taller than Edward Elric. (And that usually gets Roy tossed out of a window as well...) She and Riza are good friends, along with Tara and Nikki, and she likes to sing to the music Nikki brought with her from her side."

As I explained this to the guy who was keeping tabs on Mustang and Mizu-chan- (and yes, the rest of the guys (and Riza) and I have given her a nickname)- I noticed that he looked like he was going to explode with the laughter he was keeping in. Now, understand that this is the guy you file complaints to in the military, and he also keeps tabs on the work quota put in by each office team. Not normally a guy you see laughing a lot.

At this point, he had started howling with laughter.

"No wonder the boy wants her gone!" he laughed. I frowned. Mustang wanted Mizu-chan to leave. I wanted her to stay.

"And it's no wonder the work quota for his team increased by 30%! Whatever you do, boy! Keep her with ya!"

I smiled. Mustang wouldn't be happy about this, but Mizuri, Riza, and the guys were gonna be ecstatic. I was practically clicking my heels together on the way back to the office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So do I have to leave, Jean?" Mizuri asked me. I shook my head no.

"Nah, the guy said that whatever we do, don't let you leave, actually. Mustangs actually working for once." I laughed. Mizu-chan squealed and hugged me.

"YAY! I get to stay! But, that does present a problem..." she sighed, arms still latched around my body. "I don't have a permanent place in Central to stay..."

"Ah, well, You tried, Buh-bye! Buh-bye now! See ya! Oiv-oa!" Mustang said happily. Mizuri and I glared at him. I looked to Hawkeye, and the look she sent back told me that she wished she could let Mizu-chan stay with her, but she couldn't for some reason.

I didn't bother looking at the others.

"You can stay with me, Mizu-chan. If you want to, that is."

I saw the starry eyed look on her face and braced myself as she jumped on me. It amazed me that even when doing something like this, she was so light, and dainty, and she moved with perfect grace, even though one of her arms was made of metal. She shouted out a string of rushed thank you's and I'm so happy's and she smiled a big bright smile that seemed almost too big for her face. It was just too cute, and i couldn't help but laugh with her and everyone else as Mustang repeatedly hit his head on the table.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Today, Mizuri Tamanami, My eternal Nightmare, met her blonde, male, counterpart, Edward Elric. Some. One. Shoot. Me. PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!

It was our spring office picnic, and Jean had decided to bring Mizuri along, and Mizuri had brought along her friends Tara and Nikki. I will admit, Tara and Mizu can cook some pretty damn good food. (Nikki said that she didn't bring anything because she wanted us all to live, and by the looks on Tara's and Mizu's faces, she really meant what she said.)

Everything was going fine at that point, as in, Mizuri hadn't tried to kill me or prank me yet, but then Nikki had had to go and find the Elric Brothers. She wanted to see Alphonse apparently, but she came back... with the Other one...

"Oi, Where the hell are you takin' me!"

"Fullmetal?"

"Flame-teme?"

"Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Short stuff? Look, Mi-chan, you have a friend who's a midget just like you!" I said, fully intent on making Fullmetal angry. I actually hadn't meant to insult Mizuri too, I knew better than that from experience... It's just, everything had been going so well, for a minute I lost myself and it slipped. Fullmetal didn't even get the chance to retaliate. Mizuri beat him to it by a long shot.

"Who the hell are you calling a MIDGET?" The looks on everyone's faces set my mistake in stone, as they couldn't believe I had said what I had, Knowing Mizuri, and Nikki had crawled behind the shocked Riza and the fearful Tara.

I will never do that again. As it stands, I am currently in the hospital because of that hot tempered woman.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mustang has some nerve, insulting me like that. Hmph! He got off easy! But oh well. The picnic ended a little early because of the incident, but I did make a new friend by the name of Edward Elric, and Jean says he doesn't blame me for going off on Roy. As he put it, Colonel Mustang should know better than to insult a woman, much less a no-nonsense girl like me. And I have to admit, going home with Jean Havoc ain't all that bad. If more girls would stick to him and not go off gallivanting after Mustang's shallow charm, he'd be the new heart throb.

I like living with Havoc. He's polite, he's clean, and he doesn't wear excessive amounts of cologne like a certain hot headed Colonel, he's prompt, organized, and even though he smokes, his house smells more like granny smith apples than anything else. Roy's place smells like Brandy and beer; no surprise there. And I had to go get him for the Fuhrer once! Get your mind out of the gutter, will ya?

Anyway, since I've been staying with Jean, he's been nothing but the perfect gentleman, and he lets me go with him to work all the time, especially for the holidays. Which reminds me... Valentines day is coming up...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mizuri is really cool, and it's really funny to watch when she beats up Roy. Speaking of whom, He's recently become Fuhrer. And guess what? Right when he got rid of the Fraternization law, he resigned and went back to being Colonel because he wanted to stay with his own squad. I wonder if Riza had anything to do with that.

"Oi! nee-chan! Guess what!"

I turned to face Nikki as she waved her laptop and her Ipad in front of my face.

"Yeah?"

"WE ARE ON THE FMA COVER! AND THEY JUST PUT UP THE ROYAI ARC!"

thats too bad... I was looking foreward to some RoyxEd yaoi... But wait... We're on the cover? I snatched her computer from her and sure enough, there we were on the most recent FMA season cover. Sweetness... But why are the Homunculi on it with us? Instead of the others from Roy's squadron?

When I asked Nikki about it, she shrugged and said that we'd probably get alchemy training and have to fight them. I thought it was going to be a little more complicated than that, and later, i would find out that it couldn't have Gotten more complicated.


	11. Chapter 9

Roy sighed, looking through the selection of extravagant and flashy jewelry laid out before him. Apparently, Madame Christmas had gotten all of this from his mother. He growled at the thought. His own parents hadn't wanted him. Sorry sons of... He turned his focus from his inner rant and back onto the jewelry before him. Riza hated flashy, and she disliked the extravagant and unnecessary. Almost everything he picked up fit into not just one, but all of those categories. He sighed, and was in the process of getting up from his desk when he saw the tiny thing, almost buried underneath a heavily jeweled necklace. He picked it up as he stood, studying the tiny blue diamond in the center and the intricate but beautifully detailed roses carved into the gold ring, the same color as Riza's hair.

He wondered if the ring would fit her. It looked about right, but he couldn't be sure, and he couldn't just go up to Riza and say, "Hey, Lt. What's your ring size?". He had a feeling that that wouldn't go over very well. If it went over at all, that is.

That being his outlook, he decided to go call up Schieska, and see if she knew. She could keep secrets well enough, and if things went according to plan, she wouldn't have to for very long.

"hello? Schieska here. Can I help you?"

"This is Colonel Mustang. I have a question for you that is of the utmost importance."

The casualness of Schieska's voice dropped and she answered with a swift "Yessir!"

"Fire away, colonel!"

he hesitated. It was only Schieska, sure, but he was still a little self conscious.

"...What is Lt. Hawkeye's ring size?"

"Well that was an... awkward conversation..."

The ring was the right size, much to his delight, but now that that was out of the way, he had to go about what he was going to say to Lt Hawkeye when he presented it to her. Not only that, what he would say if she accepted the ring... He didn't want to do something cliché or stupid and ruin the moment or anything like that.

So what was Roy Mustang to say to Riza when he... well, when he asked her to marry him?

He sighed as he said down at his office desk and rubbed his temples, desperately wishing that his nerves would go on vacation and leave him the hell alone. However, he was not so blessed as to have that luxury. He never was, it seemed.

When Riza walked in that morning, she had expected to be alone, and have a few minutes to make herself a cup of coffee before starting on the paperwork at her desk and waiting for the others to get there. When she spotted Roy, sitting there, signing away and rubbing his head, she had let a startled gasp fall from her lips. He immediately looked up, seemingly a bit startled, himself, and then he looked back down, hoping to shield his nervous features from the hawk's eyes of his faithful Lt. He didn't completely fail in that, but he didn't quite succeed either as Riza immediately knew something was amiss.

"Sir," She began, unsure whether or not the situation called for formalities, "is something bothering you?"

He didn't look up but he smiled, knowing full well that he needed to face her, and that this could be his chance.

"No, nothing's wrong. Why, do you ask, Riza?"

She huffed and walked over to him, watching him wince with every step forward she took.

"Whats wrong, Roy." It wasn't even a question as she leaned down so that she could see his face, and then he looked up at her.

What she saw was quite unusual for her Colonel. His features were tinged pink, unsure, and his eyes darted about nervously, as if he wanted to say something but at the same time, he didn't.

"Um...It's not that there's anything _wrong_, Lt... it's just... I need to ask you a … _personal_ question. And the answer is very important to me, so..." he trailed. Riza smiled at him warmly.

"Okay, then, go ahead. What did you want to ask?"

Roy gulped, and turned his head to look out of the window at his back a moment before turning his attention back to Riza.

"Would you... If... If I asked you to marry me, what would you say?" He asked slowly, trying to make sure he didn't rush his words out of nerves and embarrassment. He looked back at the window, grimacing. That was pathetic. He couldn't even ask her the question but had to use a What If thesis. He slapped himself mentally and then turned around when Riza called his name.

"Roy, to answer your question?" She said, a serious look on her face. Yup. He screwed up.

"I... have to tell you that I would say yes, I accept." When the final words fell from her mouth, she smiled, and laughed at his dumbstruck expression.

"I made you doubt yourself, didn't I Colonel?" She chuckled. His face was blank for a good minute before he shook his head, stood up, and shouted "DAMMIT, LT! DON'T DO THAT TO ME!" which was met with more laughter from her end, barely restrained by the hand she placed over her mouth. When he sat back down again, Riza chanced a look at the clock. There was still a good hour before the rest of the squad arrived, so she took the liberty of walking around Roy's desk and setting herself down in his lap. He stuttered unintelligebly.

"Shhh." she whispered, putting a finger to his lips to stop his senseless babble, "Don't say a word."

She smiled as his face went red, and she swore later that if she had had a glass of red wine, his cheeks would be even darker maroon that the red liquid.

Situating herself just right, she laced her arms around his neck and touched her nose to his, trusting that he knew where she was going with this. He caught the message, and slowly and unsurely, he let his lips touch hers the way he had always wanted to. The reality of the situation hadn't kicked in until after she pulled away, and had taken a seat at her own desk, but it was there nonetheless.

He had just proposed to and kissed Riza Hawkeye, and he was now engaged to her.

"HEY! Riza! Come her a second!" he exclaimed after realizing that a key element was missing and also after sitting on said key element, which was still in his pocket. He stood up and met her halfway between their desks, and he pulled out the tiny ring that he had gotten from his mother.

"I literally spent weeks and months trying to find the perfect ring for you. I knew you didn't like flashy and I knew you didn't want anything big, so..." He said shyly, getting down on one knee and presenting the ring to her.

"Will you marry me, Riza?"

"yes."

It had been about six months since the car ride from Risembool and Nikki had adjusted well to her new home with Tara in central, but her nee-chan was still wary of her surroundings, especially at night. Nikki just thought she was just being paranoid.

They had occupations now,as Mustang had them researching everything there was to know about the anime, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Nikki had to go drop off the papers on this weeks results in five minutes.

"Come on, nee-chan! It's just one hour out of your time! Thirty minutes there and thirty back! I don't wanna go to his office by myself!"

"Forget it. I am not going out this late. You shouldn't have put it off so long."

Nikki huffed and shrugged her blue file bag onto her shoulder, glaring halfheartedly at her nee-chan.

"Fine. If I get kidnapped, it's your fault for not being there to help me." she sighed, opening the door and walking out. Tara waited for the key to turn before sighing ant waiting anxiously for the next FMA episode to air. When it did, forty five minutes later, she passed out.


	12. Chapter 10 :The start of Serinity

"I... I didn't scream..."

It was late- much too late for any normal person to be out. The street lamps were brightly lit, but they did little to extinguish the ever morphing shadows and the darkness that seemed to move in the corner of the bright blue eyes every time their owner took a step forward to the safety and warmth of home.

She tried to walk faster, to get home before the lights went off and sighed, trying to shake off the feeling of being watched. She figured, hey, it's late, and she was probably being paranoid. It was after 2 o clock in the morning after all, and that bastard Mustang had her and Nee-chan researching everything there possibly was to know about FMA. She'd just left his office after dropping off the papers. She was tired, and her imagination was running wild. Her mind was simply playing tricks on her as she thought she heard foot steps behind her. Still though...

"Who in there right mind would willingly be out this late on a work day?" she whispered as she stopped beneath a street lamp. "I don't see anyone... But Ed said specifically said not to trust my eyes in this place after dark. Central can be a dangerous place, so he said... But still, I'm just paranoid. There's nobody here but me..."

"You sure about that?"

"AH!"

She turned sharply, the tug of her gloved automail fore-arms putting an almost painful strain on her upper arms.

"You deaf? I asked you a question. Are you sure you're the only one here?"

"Uh- As of right now? Nuh-uh!"

The person who had snuck up behind her smiled charmingly, but he had a murderous gleam in his violet purple eyes snake eyes. His green hair was long and thin, but fanned out around his head and almost seemed to bounce as he snatched up her hair tie.

"You sure looked scared, girly."

'Well DUH! Of course I'm scared.' She thought, studying his face. She recognized him, she knew him.

She took a deep breath, and looked him dead in the eye, erasing all traces of fear from her face. Well, she tried anyway.

"Well of course... Any girl with any common sense would be afraid of you... Envy. You're a Homunculus, right?" she asked calmly, though Envy was slowly starting to back her into a corner.

"You're the one who killed Maes Hughes..."

Envy smirked.

"You did your homework, you smart girl." She gulped and backed away from him.

"Looks like I won't be killing you tonight..."

"Wh- Whaddya mean by- WHAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

She pouted. She glared. She didn't respond to any of his questions. Especially the question about her name.

"I won't ask you again! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR NAME!"

"Hmph!"

He grabbed her loose hair and forced her to look up at him.

"What the hell is the matter with you? Is your head broken or somethin?"

"Maybe I just don't like cross dressing palm trees." She muttered, pointing to his outfit and then his hair. He twitched.

"Why you little-"

"Envy! Where are you? I'm bored! Come play with me!" A juvenile voice sounded, coming from down the hallway of the maze that Envy had taken her to. She figured that this maze of an underground city must be the Homunculus HQ. She never realized that the place had been this big.

"Get lost Wrath! I'm busy interrogating the prisoner!" he snapped. Wrath, a small child in appearance with long dark hair and a strange half top with suspenders connected to his shorts, waltzed in any way. He spied the girl strapped to a chair with bruises around her neck and blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. She knew him too. She knew all seven of the homunculi by heart, and she also knew that this sweet, innocent looking child could be a psychotic killer. Still though, she had always loved kids and she had the urge to at least humor him a little, give him a reason to laugh. She smiled and tilted her head sweetly.

"Hi. I'm Nikki, what's your name, kid?" she asked. She snickered as she watched Envy flounder at the sight of Wrath getting her name so easily.

"My names Wrath! Wanna play with me? Envy's always either too busy or he plain just doesn't want to!" Wrath stuck out his tongue at Envy, who in turn gave him the finger.

"I'd love to play with you. But unfortunately I have to ask him first." She said, pointing at Envy though her hand was strapped down to the armrest of the chair.

Envy glared at her and then at Wrath, wishing he could just snap BOTH their necks. But he couldn't do that to the prisoner as that would kill her, and he wasn't through with her yet, and it would be pointless to do to Wrath, as he would simply heal.

Scowling he waved them away.

"Fine. But I'm not untying you!" he muttered, watching through the corner of his eye as Wrath went to work untying Nikki from the ropes. That girl was all smiles and giggles as Wrath led her to his room to play, and Envy was left to his own thoughts. The predominant thought in his head at the moment, was why he hadn't killed her yet. The people he kidnapped (or attempted to kidnap) never made it back to the base, much less to the interrogations. What made him decide to keep her around this long?

Well, for starters, she interested him. When he had taken her back, they had walked, and not once did she attempt to escape. When called on it, she replied, laughing hysterically: "AHAHAHA! THAT'S HILARIOUS! HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A HUMAN- OUTRUNNING A HOMUNCULUS? OH, GOD THAT IS RICH!"

"You certainly are the strange one..."

"Well hey! What good would running do me? It would probably just get me killed, so I figure, I won't run, and live a few minutes longer."

He had to admit. She had had a point there. But upon arriving to the base, she had become stubborn and uncooperative. Just getting her name had been an extreme test of his patience. It was like he was a game that she knew exactly how to play, because she had gained his attention to the point where he really didn't want to kill her and waste his efforts. She truly was a weird one. Not to mention that her arms seemed to make a heavy clanging sound whenever they hit something solid. But her arms looked normal. Maybe there was automail underneath her skin? He wasn't sure.

What was worse, this Nikki girl reminded him of _her_. Maybe that was why she peaked his curiosity so. But the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. He didn't want to think about that so much. He shifted. Her personality was cheeky, but calculating, somewhat like his own, and she also knew how to handle people in social situations. What had happened a moment ago with Wrath was proof of that. He also got the feeling that if he were a normal human person who had tried to kidnap her, the reaction he had gotten would have been quite different. He could see that in the way she held herself. She would have fought him, but she had sense enough to know that she didn't stand a chance against a homunculus. Envy figured that she probably WANTED to fight him, but realized that doing so would get her killed, not only because he would win, but if the other homunculi decided to fight her as well, she was as good as dead. She could probably fight pretty well... For a human that is. She had a strategic mind, and she was probably trying to figure out a way to get herself out of this mess right now as he thought on it. Not that it would do her any good. But still. He could tell she was intelligent. More so than anyone else he'd killed or tried to kidnap.

"I'm really glad Envy let you play with me! Nobody else ever does. Sloth's too lazy, Lust just says no, Greed's always busy counting money- dunno where he gets it, Pride's always busy doing boring stuff, Gluttony always wants to eat me, so he's not so much fun, and Envy's just plain mean."

"I'm glad too. Envy's kind of scary."

"Only when he's pretending. I think he's like that cuz you remind him of Nicole."

"Nicole?"

"Yeah. He had a girlfriend before he became a homunculus. She died that day. Come to think of it, you look just like her in the picture he showed me. 'Cept she had her hair down." Wrath smiled, getting ready to throw the ball back to Nikki. She caught it and tossed it back.

"Do you think you could show me the picture?"

"Maybe later, if Envy leaves it out like he usually does."

"Knowing that you were here I wouldn't leave things like _that_ out. Not with a kid running around."

"All of the others know already. It's just a touchy subject."

"Oh. I see."

Wrath threw the ball up in the air and bounced it on his head.

"You really do look like her though. But you don't have the same eyes. Hers were really passive- like Sloth's. Yours are more like Envy's. You got a lotta fight in you, right?"

It struck Nikki as to how perceptive Wrath was. She nodded.

"I hope so. I intend to survive as long as possible, and then I'll get to play with you some more! But I should probably be getting back. I'll bet he thinks I'm trying to get you to help me escape or something."

Wrath nodded, pouting.

"Alright. Come on, this way." He said, leading her out of the dingy room. Nikki smiled gratefully and took the hand that he offered as he led her back to Envy's room.

She was back sooner than he expected, and Wrath had her hand as Envy opened the door. She smiled at Wrath, thanking him for leading the way, and when she was sure he was gone, she sighed and walked in, sitting back down in the chair from before, waiting for Envy to strap her in again.

"Um... What the hell are you doing?"

"Sitting. You were gonna interrogate me some more, right?"

"No..."

"Oh. Well, can I sit over there then? Looks more comfortable than this steel chair."

Envy shrugged and she made her way over to one of the two beds in the room. She sat on the one that didn't look used.

"Lets restart. I'm Envy. And you are?" Nikki sighed, and took a deep breath, looking him dead in the eye with a look that told him clearly that she would not be an easy kill or like anything he had ever encountered before. Not that he hadn't noticed she was unusual. That was a given.

"I'm Nicole. Nicole Roanoke. You can call me Nikki." she stared at him as if daring to question her.

Envy stared at her blankly. 'well that went nowhere.' he thought bitterly.

"So how long do you intend to keep me as a pet before you kill me?" she asked. Envy studied her.

"What makes you think I intend to kill you?"

""I guess I won't be killing you tonight." Quote unquote." Envy sighed and crossed his arms.

"You are very strange."

"You're the one wearing a halter top and a skirt."

"Its not a skirt."

"Looks like one. You should at least change the pants. I can understand the halter top at least."

"My clothes are fine!"

"Yeah, for a cross dresser."

"No, for a guy. Like me!"

"A cross dresser guy?"

"ARGH! YOU ARE JUST LIKE NICOLE! ALWAYS TWISTING MY WORDS AROUND!"

"I _am_ Nicole. That's my name smarty."

"No, Not you!"

"Then who?"

"None of your damn business!"

"Jeez, touchy touchy."

"Shut up, if you want to live."

"My lips are sealed. For now, at least."

Envy sighed and sat down on the other bed, opposite the one she was sitting on.

"I wonder how you'd react to the others... I'd like to see you go up against Gluttony."

"NO WAY! THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I'M GOING UP AGAINST THAT GIANT! HE'LL EAT ME!"

"True... but how'd you know that?"

"... Uh... There was a picture in the news and a testimony from Riza Hawkeye and Kain Feury. They said Gluttony tried to eat them."

"I'm pretty sure that that article didn't give names."

"Not that particular one, no. But like you said. I did my homework... Haha..." Nikki said nervously. She really hoped he thought she was telling the truth. Because the real truth was, she was from another dimension on the other side of the Truth gate. She wasn't even supposed to be here.

"Okay, whatever. You're lying but I really don't care. So how old are you?"

"I don't see why I should have to tell you that. You should never ask a woman her age. It's rude."

"Well for the record, you look almost as young as Wrath, which means that you were out past curfew last night."

"I am Not a little kid! I'm grown!"

"You look fifteen."

"I am TWENTY!"

"Oh. Okay." Envy smirked. 

"You jerk!"

"Thank you kindly. Whens your birthday?"

"Its in November. Its on thanksgiving this year."

"So the 21st then?"

"Yeah."

"You're really really weird."

"We've already established that, thank you."

"No, I mean, everything I expected a scared girl being kidnapped to do, like run, scream, try to fight me off... You do the exact opposite. You even went back to the interrogation chair without being asked!"

"It wouldn't do me any good to struggle."

"Then why wouldn't you even tell me your name before?"

"I just wanted to test your patience. See how much you had. I figured you were gonna kill me anyway, so if I play my cards right I can draw out my life as much as possible and still have a little fun."

"You're a smart girl, I'll give you that. Strange, but smart."

"I get that a lot. … Nee-chan's probably worried about me..."

"You have a sister?"

"Well, no, actually. Nee-chan is just a really close friend of mine. We're like sisters, but not really blood related."

"Oh. Kinda like me and the other homunculi?"

"Exactly."

Envy looked her over. He had given her hair tie thing back and she had pulled her dark chocolate hair into a messy ponytail, her black long sleeve shirt was wrinkled, as were her dark cyan blue jeans, and her bright blue eyes looked everywhere but his face. He smirked, leaning back so she got a good look at his chest and … well, other places.

"See somethin you like?"

"No, not really."

Roy jumped as the telephone rang near his ear.

"Ahem- Hello?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound half asleep.

"Hey, Roy. Have you seen Nikki? She didn't come home last night after dropping off those papers. I've looked everywhere for her."

"Um, No, I haven't. But the papers are here, so she must've come by here. What time did she leave?"

" she left at about 1:15 in the morning, and it takes her about 30 minutes to get there."

"Alright. I'm going to get some of my team to help look for her. She wouldn't just leave and not tell you, right?"

"No, of course not. She wanted me to go with her anyway. Oh, man!"

"Don't worry, Tara. We'll find her."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Goodbye. Hawkeye! Havoc! Mizu! We're going to go find Nikki. She's Missing. Riza, get Black Hayate!"

"Yessir."

"Falman, Breda, Feury, You stay here in case Nikki comes by. In the meanwhile, Keep working."

"Yessir."

"Lets move!"

"So this is the route Nick takes to get home?" Mizuri asked, looking first at Mustang, and then at Havoc.

"yeah. Look for anything that Nikki might have dropped."

"You mean like a piece of her automail?" Riza asked. Mustang nodded.

"Exactly."

"Well here. Look."

Riza handed Roy a thin sheet of automail that probably came from the palm plate.

"it says N.V. On it." Havoc observed. Mizu and Roy said it aloud a few times.

"N.V. … N.V. … ENVY! THE HOMUNCULUS!" Roy exclaimed. "It makes sense. Envy was prowling around and when she got caught or cornered, she dropped a piece of her automail with a clue as to what had happened to her."

"That's right. But now the problem is how we find her, and how we tell her "Nee-chan" what we think happened.

"My guess is that Tara already knows, but needed us to get the clues. Look don't question it, just trust me." Riza said, taking the automail plate from Roy.

"But like Mizu said, our main problem is figuring out where Envy took her. The Homunculi moved out of the fifth laboratory ages ago."

Havoc nodded.

"But they had to have had a backup. They're 5th lab home was practically destroyed when we took it down. Where do you think they would go?" He asked.

Mizu looked grave as she spoke.

"The Infinity Laboratory."

Mustang looked at her quizzically.

"The Infinity Laboratory was the figurehead for the things that the 5th was doing, and was much more lavishly decorated and well taken care of. It's probably been the home base this whole time, but the operations took place from the fifth. The Infinity lab is located near the outskirts of central so it had that "Scenic inspiration" look to it, but it was shut down long before the fifth was. The people that managed it were corrupted like Shou Tucker and the things they brought to the media were terrible monsters that didn't even have _names_- they were so unheard of. That's why they shut down the fifth too. But apparently the 5th was still secretly running, so whats to say that the Infinity isn't Homunculi territory as well?" She stated.

"Alright. We'll check it out. But first, we gather some troops. I'm not taking my men in there alone. Lust almost Killed Havoc, Pride almost took Riza, Gluttony almost got Feury, and Envy started the Ishbal War. We go in armed to the teeth and we leave nothing to chance, Understand?"

The group nodded, and they started back to the office to gather what was needed.

Nikki squeaked indignantly as Envy slid his hands up her shirt.

"HEY! KN-KNOCK IT OFF!" She yelped. Envy slid his hands downward then, beneath the hem of her jeans and her underwear.

"STOP IT!" She screamed, whirling around to let her hand collide with the side of his head.

Envy hit the far wall with a loud crack. There were bits and pieces of the wall that had come loose and were strewn all over the floor like dust from an asteroid impact.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! YOU PERVERT!"

"What the hell is going on in here?" asked a male voice. Nikki looked up to the door apprehensively as Greed stuck his head into the room. She grabbed the nearest blunt object she could find, which happened to be a piece of the bed post that had broken when Envy hit it during his flight to the wall.

"Ah... You can put the stick down, Kid."

Nikki huffed.

"I'm NOT A KID! I AM 20 YEARS OLD, THANK YOU!"

"Uh... Okay, short stuff. What the hell just happened?"

"DO NOT CALL ME SHORT! And Envy was being a pervert so I slapped him."

"You … You slapped him?"

"Yes, Captain Idiot. I slapped him for sticking his hand up my shirt and down my pants."

"Uhm... I'm sorry, but it looks like you ran him over with a truck, not like you slapped him. How the hell did you manage THAT?" Greed asked, pointing to Envy, who was just then climbing out of the giant hole in the wall.

"You... Bitch..."

"Cross-dressing pervert palm tree!"

"She got you man."

"Shut it!"

"Okay, so you met Greed and Wrath, now you get to meet the other Homunculi cause I can't stand you."

"Is it because I remind you of Nicole or is it because I speak my mind?"

"BOTH! Now SHUT UP!"

"Sorry. No-can-do."

"Ugh... That's Pride; That's Sloth; That's Lust; and That's Gluttony."

"Nice to meet you all... Ah... I don't think I have much to say besides the fact that I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me short or call me Nicole. I'm 20 and you can call me Nikki. Hajimemashitite."

"Okay great. Pride, I'm dumping her on you."

"I'm sorry, but I have things to do right now. Why not let her stay with Sloth or Lust for a while? They're both girls."

"I'm too tired..."

"I have a date."

"Greed?"

"Sorry, after what she did to you I'm steering clear for a while. I don't wanna test her temper."

"I don't think that's such a good idea either." Nikki put in. Envy groaned.

"Wrath?"

"I'm Playing with Mousy!"

"Grrrrr... Gluttony! Lunch time!"

"NANI!" Nikki exclaimed as Envy pointed at her.

Gluttony grinned and charged, barely leaving Nikki enough time to react and box vault over his head.

"NO EAT! NO EAT!"

Gluttony either didn't hear or didn't care, because he charged again anyway. Coming up with a half formed plan as Gluttony transformed and the other Homunculi retreated (save Envy because he obviously wanted to watch her get eaten), she vaulted over his head and turned to land on his back. She pointed to Envy.

"Hey Gluttony! Lets skip lunch and get to dessert! Go for the palm tree!"

"WHAT!" Envy cried. This was something he hadn't expected, and Gluttony turned on him in an instant, taking his leg in his teeth and biting hard. Envy screamed as it was torn from his body, and a new one regenerated in its place. Gluttony, satisfied with chewing on the severed leg, transformed back to normal and Nikki hopped off of him. She stumbled a bit,and then went to sit against the wall of the sitting room that Gluttony's rampage had practically obliterated.

"I can't believe I'm still alive..."

"You won't be for long!" Envy hissed, hovering over her menacingly.

"Envy, calm down." Pride said scoldingly. Then he turned to Nikki. "That was very clever. You're very resourceful, aren't you?"

"ah... I try. Really I'm just trying not to die here..."

"Coulda fooled me..."

"Well you're doing an excellent job of it. As I said, You're very clever..."

"Uh... Thanks... I think."

Pride smiled at her and she smiled back uncertainly. Envy scoffed. 

"You'll be staying in Envy's room from now on. He's the only one with an extra bed."

"_Great_..."

"Hey, Envy..."

"Now what?"

Nikki sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Tell me about Nicole. Think of it as a last request, will you?"

"I never said I was gonna kill you. Why should I grant you a last request?"

"You say that after you almost had Gluttony eat me- just yesterday! I don't know how much time I have left before you really snap, and this is just a little thing I'm asking of you. I'll even say please. Please, will you tell me about her? I'd really like to know what she was like and what she was to you."

"No."

"Why not?" Nikki whined, glaring at him almost evilly.

"Because it's something that doesn't concern you and it's something I would rather not even think about- let alone tell you the story!"

"It _does_ concern me."

Envy looked up at her and glared, again sitting just opposite her.

"It concerns me because I remind you of her somehow and it AFFECTS the way we interact. I do not want to live in another woman's shadow, even if it is in my dying days."

"There is seriously something wrong with your head...Do you have a-"

"JUST TELL ME!"

Startled for a moment, Envy looked at the clock beside the window, which read 4:00 AM. It was either too late or too early for this. It was still dark, so he couldn't decide, not that he really gave. He couldn't really decipher the look on her face, somewhere between rage, desperation, and something else he couldn't identify.

Casting his gaze downward, he sighed and rubbed his temples.

_'Maybe I pushed a little too hard...' _Nikki thought, letting her look drop a little as she fell backwards to lay down on her bed more comfortably.

"if I tell you about Nicole... Will you shut the _fuck_ up?"

"I promise I'll be quieter. I cant promise total silence though."

"That's the best I would have gotten, either way. Well, for starters, If you were to take your hair down and be a little passive, you'd look exactly like her."

"Is that why you pulled out my scrunchie when you kidnapped me?"

"... ..."

" I'm gonna ask questions, Envy. Anyway, Go on?"

"She was very smart, and she reasoned things out a lot like you too, but she was much quieter. I mean MUCH."

"You're hinting at some fault in me, aren't you?"

"Gee, you think? Anyway... I... I loved her a lot. When I was dying and was chosen to be a homunculus by Dante, she volunteered herself to create my philosophers stone. I didn't want her to do it. I begged and pleaded with her, but I was too weak to actually stop her. She had this notion that if she did it, she'd be a part of me forever, but all that came of her unnecessary sacrifice was a big wad of loneliness. It's like she was being so selfish and dramatic that she didn't realize what losing her would do to me... There's a reason I'm named Envy. I saw the damned woman who took her from me go to her husband as happy as can be. I envied that. I knew that I could never be happy with the person I fell for ever again. I started killing people because I thought that if I couldn't have a shot at happiness, neither should they. Nicole was too giving for her own good... I miss her."

"Well... that was quite the revelation, and I wouldn't have expected to hear something like this from you... But you didn't answer my question. What was she like."

"The exact opposite of you."

"hmm... Short, concise, to the point. I like that."

"... Oi, what kind of books do you read?"

"Eh? Why would you ask such a random question?"

"Don't question me! Just Answer me!"

Nikki looked at him in question, wondering what exactly he had to gain by this.

"I like to read and write romance. Why?"

Envy nodded to himself. Then he turned away from her on his bed and went to sleep. Nikki harrumphed and followed suit.


	13. Chapter 11: Homunculove

"Anou, Pride-sama?"

"Yes, Nikki." Pride said, turning in his seat to face her. She noted that his room looked like an office as she walked into it.

"Um... Why does Envy hate me so much?"

"I don't think he hates you. As a matter of fact, I think it's quite the opposite."

"So what, Pride? He's in love with me? I doubt it. He had Gluttony try to _EAT_ me, if you don't recall."

"Well, yes. But I think he had faith that you'd survive. Though I don't think he took into account that you'd turn Gluttony on him and get his leg ripped off. That must've made him a little testy."

Nikki nodded and took the seat offered to her by Pride.

"I just hate the fact that I can't tell if he wants to kill me or keep me around... And he says I look like this Nicole person that he used to know. I know it affects the way he acts around me, but it's confusing and I hate living in her shadow all the time... I know beggars cant be choosers, and the same probably applies for prisoners, but still..."

"I see..."

"I wish I could talk to nee-chan... She'd know what to do... I ..."

"yes?"

"I have automail arms, and I left a piece of it behind when Envy kidnapped me. The military might be looking for me, but... I don't necessarily want to be rescued... You guys... you're my friends, even though I've only been here for five days."

"I guess we'd better take precautions then."

"Roy?"

Roy looked up from filling out the papers at his desk as he waited for word that the troops he had summoned were ready to board the train headed to the Infinity lab.

"Yes, Lt?"

"The troops are ready and have been debriefed. We're awaiting your signal." Riza saluted, careful to mask her emotions and appear professional. It was hard, though. She vividly remembered the day Lust told her that she had killed him. That was something she did not want to relive.

"Lt..." Roy said softly. 

"Yes,sir?"

"It's gonna be OK."

"I never said it wasn't, sir."

"No, but you were thinking it."

He smiled at her, a smile she hadn't seen but once, when she had tumbled through the gate with Nikki and Tara. It was gentle and reassuring as he hugged her, saying things like how he was going to get Nikki and get the hell out, and leave the real fight with his troops if she wanted, or even just leave.

She was grateful that he didn't have any harebrained schemes in his head, or that if he did, he wasn't divulging now. It helped her nerves.

"Come on. They're waiting." He said. His trademark "I'm better than you by a _long shot_" grin back on his face as he strutted out of the office like a peacock. She could only sigh and follow, at his side in a moment like she always was.

Mizuri, Mustang, Hawkeye, Tara, Havoc, and the Elric brothers stood at the front of the stopped train, in the swirling snowy wind.

Ed, Mustang, and Tara were livid with rage.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN WE'RE SNOWED IN!"

Mizuri, Riza and the other boys were staring at them as they screamed at the conductor, who, quite frankly looked terrified of the two alchemists and the female civilian.

"Hey, leave the poor woman alone. It's not her fault the tracks got covered. Besides, I think I should be able to get rid of enough snow so we can get through. It'll take a while though."

"What do you mean, "I think" and "It'll take a while", Mizu?" Roy asked haughtily. "Aren't you a water alchemist? This should be easy for you!"

She sighed and glared at him as she continued to speak.

"It would be, but it's seventeen below out here right now, and it's noon. If I were to stay out here too long, I'd get hypothermia. It's not that I don't have the ability, it's just too cold and there's just too much snow and wind to do it all at once. We have to work little by little if you want the train to get through without starting an avalanche."

"Damn it! We've been on our way for two weeks now! There has to be a faster way through!"

"Even if there is, without the heat from the train we'd all still die!"

Roy glared at the woman before him, and then, as Jean stepped up behind her, he groaned.

"Fine. We'll stay here for now. Mizu, do what you can."

"Yes sir."

Colonel Roy didn't miss the approving look on Mizu's face, and couldn't help but wonder at the sudden sign of respect.

"We'll get through, and finish the mission. No problem!" She shouted, and then got to work using alchemy to pull about 100 gallons of ice water off the railway.

"Oi! Mizu! What do you call that?" Ed asked, pointing to thee long tendrils of water that she dumped over the side of the cliff.

"The technique or the move?"

"Both."

"The technique is called water bending. I can pull water out of snow, ice, and even the air and living things. Then I can manipulate it with different stances and moves. The one I'm using right now-" She stopped and grunted as another hundred gallons went over the side. "Is called the water whip, but I'm not actually "whipping" it. There's nothing to hit and the noise might start an avalanche; plus it would be a waste of energy."

"Wow..."

Ed and Jean watched her work until the sun started going down, and then they all went back aboard for something hot to drink, satisfied with the seventeen miles of track that Mizu had uncovered from the snow.

"The snow slowed them down."

"Good, Thank you Sloth."

Sloth nodded at Nikki and Envy as they continued their fight.

Envy glared at the girl.

"NO! No, no no! You're form is off again! You keep coming back to it like a default!"

"I-I'm sorry, ah... i-is it really that bad?"

"YES! You're gonna get yourself killed if you fight like that!"

Nikki looked down at the ground, rubbing her arms. She didn't know what she could do to fix the problem. Maybe it was because she was so uncomfortable in the fighting clothes envy had given her. The top barely concealed her bra (both underneath and above), and the shorts were practically panties. She felt like she was fighting in a bikini. She was confident in herself, yes, but not _That_ confident...

"A-aright, y'know what? We're not gonna get anywhere with me yelling and you getting all worked up. Lets just break and come back-"

"No."

"Eh?"

"No way; Not a chance. I'm not leaving until I get it right! I'm gonna give it all I've got this time!"

Envy smiled and walked up to her, fixing her arms into position and telling her exactly how to preform the move, smiling the entire time. 

"Keep yourself curled up in the air until you feel yourself coming back down. When you feel like you're about to hit, let your leg out." he said, watching her get ready to spring.

She jumped up, and right before she peaked, curled her body into a ball, and right when she started to come down, her leg went out and she landed.

"H-How was that?"

"Much better, but you put your leg out too soon."

"Oh, okay. So what, about how many seconds more?"

"Maybe about two or three."

"Okay! I'm gonna go again!"

"That's quite the drive you have there Nikki." She stopped preparing to jump when she heard a third voice behind her.

"Pride-sama!"

"Hello, I hope I'm not intruding."

"No, no. Of course not."

Pride smiled and exchanged pleasantries with her, and then turned to Envy.

"I'm curious... How do you think she'd fare, against, say... Gluttony?"

Envy's suspicious face turned to one of rage.

"NO! _NO WAY_! NOT A _**FUCKING**_ CHANCE, PRIDE! GLUTTONY WILL _KILL_ HER! THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT I'D LET YOU-"

"I... I'll fight him."

"Y-you- NO! No way!"

"Envy, I'll fight him."

"You... you've gotta be kidding me..."

After leading Gluttony and Nikki to a lower level room, which was much wider and shaped like a leveled auditorium.

"Fight until one of you is incapacitated or unable to continue fighting... Gluttony, you can eat."

"WHAT!" Envy all but shouted, leaning over the banister where he and Pride were seated.

"GLUTTONY, DON'T YOU DARE! I'LL KILL YOU!"

It was too late though. Gluttony had his orders, and nothing Envy said was going to deter him.

Pride simply chuckled at Envy's obvious fury and worry, which, admittedly, was very strange. Pride had never seen the green haired homunculus like this. It was most entertaining, like solving a mystery like the Hardy boys in those books Nikki described to him.

"Envy..." Pride said calmly, a sharp contrast to Envy and everything Envy was doing and feeling.

"What's got you so worked up? She's just a human."

"It's not something you could understand. Just get her out of there!"

"I can't. The die has been cast, Envy. You'll just have to see if she get's lucky."

Envy scowled and turned back to the progressing fight, and Nikki seemed to be holding her own, but not able to subdue Gluttony. Envy was worried that eventually, he was going to wear her down, and to his horror, that's exactly what happened.

Dodging attack after attack had left Nikki worn, and the battlefield rugged uneven. She tripped after jumping away again, and before she had a chance to flinch, she was gone from Envy's sight and plane of existence.

"NIKKI! Gluttony! YOU BASTARD! SPIT HER OUT! SPIT HER OUT! NOW!"

"I can't... I swallowed her..."

"no... no no no... dammit, No!"

"envy... mnnh... Wha?" Nikki sat up and held her throbbing head, unsure of exactly where she was and why her head hurt so badly, and slowly opened her eyes, expecting to be blinded after keeping her eyes shut like she had. Instead, she could barely make out her own hand. Spotting a fire in the distance, she stood to make for it, but stopped as she heard some sort of liquid drip off of her. Then the realization of exactly what kind of liquid it was rushed over her, the scent of rust and salt overpowering her senses and making her nautious.

"Oh dear god... its... its blood..." she gasped. "E-Envy? Pride? Anyone! …. WHERE IN THE HELL AM I!"

"Envy? A-are you alright?" a child prodded at Envy's hair.

"Leave me the hell alone."

"Envy, wheres Nikki?" Wrath asked.

"Ask that bastard Pride."

"Envy- nii... what happened. I went to Pride but he only laughed."

"He had Nikki fight Gluttony. She lost."

Wrath's innocent eyes went wide and teary.

"No! T-That's impossible! Why would he do that?"

"I don't have a clue. And he won't let me help her get out either. Without me to show her how to get out of Gluttony's stomach, she's as good as dead, even if she survived the fall..."

Wrath sat down next to Envy on the floor, wiping the already falling tears from his eyes.

"W-what are you doing, now, Envy-nii?"

"I'm looking through her notebook. She liked to draw, so I'm looking at her pictures."

"Oh..." Wrath sniffed. "C-can I look too?"

"Whatever." Envy sighed as wrath crawled into his lap to better view Nikki's drawings. He pointed out various ones that depicted the three of them and the other homunculi like a family. And then he waved one in Envy's face that made said homunculus blush beyond what he believed himself to be capable of.

"Ne, ne, Envy-nii! Look at this one! It's you and Onee-chan! It's cute cuz she's kissin' your cheek! Kawaii desultory ne!"

"_**GIVE ME THAT!"**_ Envy barked, snatching the note card paper from the little boy, who could only giggle at the flustered look on his "brother's" face as he looked it over.

Sure enough, there in the center, there he was, one eye closed and the other wide in surprise as Nikki leaned over him, kissing his cheek ans apparently waking him up, though her arms were draped around him. The caption at the bottom of the paper read _My dear Envy. :3 chuu!_

"Hey, Wrath? Could you... could you leave for a few minutes?" Envy asked quietly. Wrath nodded and quickly scurried out of Envy's lap, saying something about going to play with Sloth; also being completely ignored. Envy stared at the picture for a minute, and then began to flip through Nikki's notebook some more, watching as more and more note cards with more drawings of them together fell out of various pages.

He picked up one where she was asleep in his lap on a subway train, and he had his arms around her protectively and had slung his big leather jacket over her shoulders. The caption read "I probably won't ever have the gall to give this to you in person, Envy-sama, but, Thank you. Thank you for spending a day in my world, and for taking good care of me on the way home. My Nee-chan would be proud of you, ne? Aishiteru wa, Envy. Arigatou."

He picked up another, and they were lounging on a grassy hill somewhere, looking up at the sky. The caption read "I don't know why, but There's just something about being with Envy... I... feel at ease. I wonder if Nee-chan will be mad at me for falling for a homunculus? But then, if he ignores me, it won't be much of a problem, then... still, when I'm with him, especially when it's just us... I feel free."

He set the pictures down one by one after viewing them and found himself stuck on the last one, unable to put it down as he looked it over and reread the caption repeatedly.

She and Envy were kissing, and her arms had been thrown around his neck and his were around her waist, neither caring about their surroundings.

"There's... really nothing left to say. I love him. I can't deny it anymore. I'd do anything for him, but first, I have to prove that even though I'm only human, I'm still worth being interested in and prove my worth. I'm going to accept whatever fights I can, and not only am I going to come out alive, I'm going to _win_. Till then, Envy. Till then."

"You liar... You didn't come out alive. You lost. You didn't need to prove anything..." Envy muttered, carefully stacking up the note cards and hiding them underneath his bed, and putting the notebook under hers. Then he stood up and walked slowly out of his bedroom to confront Pride and FORCE him to let Envy get her, or die trying.

She had found a dry spot above the sea of blood and had taken extra care to wring out the blood in her hair. Then she sat down and tried to calm down, as the blood had made her begin to hyperventilate. On her way to the dry patch, she had stepped around human remains, the ruins of very foreboding buildings, and several upright gargoyles that had scared her half to death and back.

"A-alright, Nick. This is bad, but you've seen how to get out of here before on FMA, with Nee-chan... So, I draw a transmutation circle..." She trailed, going through the rest of the steps in her head, and quite thankful that she had learned a little bit of alchemy from Ed and Al.

"c'moooon! Work!" she begged, as she opened up the truth gate. A moment later, coughing and sputtering up blood, Nikki found herself in the auditorium that she had fought Gluttony in, though Pride and Envy were nowhere to be found.

"Envy... Envy-sama?" She asked, calling out to no one. She climbed up the stairs to the balcony above her, and that's when she heard Envy's furious voice.

"_YOU **FUCKER**! YOU KNOW SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO GET OUT ALIVE WITHOUT ME! **WHY WON'T YOU LET ME HELP HER!** I LOVE HER!"_

"En-Envy-sama?" She called weakly from the doorway. Envy turned around in shock and ran to her, barely catching her before she fell to the floor.

"Gluttony... can't fight anymore. I... subdued him after I got out... I made it..."

"Yeah. Yeah you did. For someone who's only human, you sure proved your worth..." Envy said quietly, quoting her words as closely as possible from memory.

Her eyes grew wide as she figured out where those very words had come from. She blushed and let him help her back to the bedroom to wash and relax, and smiled as he glared at Pride over his shoulder until he was out of sight.

Once she was cleaned up, she and Envy had a nice long talk.

He bent over in his side of the bed and picked up the large, thick stack of note cards with care, looking at the first one with a fond smile that Nikki had never seen on his face before.

"What's so funny?" she asked apprehensively, eying the particular card in his hand. He flipped it over so that she could see the picture on it. She blushed and stuttered as the traincar picture was flashed in her face.

"Kawaii, ne?" he said, flipping through the stack. "do you mind if I keep that one?"

Her head shot up in confusion and hopeful surprise.

"Y-You want that?"

"Yeah. It's... cute. I want this one and the one where we're kissing..."

"w-well... Um... I'm actually kind of proud of that one... I don't want to give it up, really... anou... And wait a second! You went through my notebook!"

"I'll trade you something for it."

She tilted her head at him, still a bit peeved.

"Like... like what, for instance... ?"

He set the stack of note cards down, and out of the corner of his eye, he smirked. She hadn't gotten dressed quite yet, and was still in her new bathrobe.

"How about..." he trailed off, walking up next to her and sitting by her on her bed. "The picture for... the real thing? What do you say?" He asked, as he leaned in to kiss her anyway. She backed away from him.

"why are you suddenly acting like this?"

"It's not obvious? I almost lost you earlier. I'm not taking you for granted anymore."

"I'm human. You hate humans."

"You are an exception to the rule."

"Nee-chan will be mad at us."

"Let her be. I don't care."

"Envy..."

"yes?"

She looked away from him sheepishly, out of any excuses that she thought he would buy, and trying hard not to cry out as he trailed butterfly kisses down her neck. It was obvious he wanted her lips though, but he wouldn't press any farther than her chin.

She pushed his head away, and turned to face him again, still halfway between either descision. Envy decided to make one for her, and kissed her with enough force to knock her onto her back and make her bounce on the old bed. If he had to guess, he didn't think she had any regrets.

Her flushed facescrunched up at first, as she was more than a little surprised and scared, but then, when she found that he wasn't being innapropriate and he was just as clueless as to what he was doing as she was, she sighed and let him have his way.

He lifted his head up and smiled down at her, noticing her arms around his neck and her legs were wrapped around his. She sighed as his long hair tickled her neck and closed her eyes.

"You went through my notebook..."

"I thought you were dead. Nobody ever gets out of Gluttony's stomach. I just wanted to know what you thought of me... and I wasn't expecting to find out that you'd fallen in love with me... And here I thought I was imagining things and I must be going crazy. What human girl would fall for something beastly like me? Willingly?"

"It's like the lion and the lamb. Ah, what a stupid, idiotic, naiive lamb."

"What a psychologically fucked up lion."

Nikki laughed at him.

"So now you know what I think of you... What do you think of me?"

"Would it make me a pedophile if I said you were cute?"

"I'm... pretty sure that term only applies to human men who pray on little children. Not homunculi."

He smiled. And instead of the usual, slightly demented grin, it was one of humored relief.

"I'm glad. Because you are. And I'm also glad you're not dead, you know. How'd you manage to get out, anyway?"

"Let's just say, that Truth isn't going to be very happy if he sees me ever again."

"And that is supposed to mean...?"

"I tricked Truth. I told him that I could fall in love with a homunculus within an alotted amount of time. He just didn't know that I already had. And also," Nikki said, gesturing at her robes sleeve, "I also lost my automail arm. The left one. He thought it was real because of the skin glove. When he finally realized it was automail, I had already jumped through the gate."

"Y-you tricked Truth... There is seriously somethin' wrong with your head... But I'm glad... So, can I have that picture, now?"

"I don't know... I _am_ really proud of it... the price is gonna be pretty steep."

"Well, I think i'll be able to afford it, eventually."

"We'll see."


End file.
